Cost of living in Silver City, NM — Housing, Rent & Index

Housing, rent, and a comparison to the US average.

$224,633
Median home value
/mo
Median rent
63
Cost index (US=100)
-8.2%
Home YoY change

The median home value in Silver City, NM is $224,633 as of 2026-04. That places Silver City below the US average for housing cost, with a cost index of approximately 63 versus a national baseline of 100.

Over the past 12 months, the median home value in Silver City has fallen 8.2%, and over the past five years it has averaged -0.6% annual growth. The current price sits -18.4% from its 5-year peak in 2023-06.

Beyond housing, day-to-day costs in Silver City are shaped by state and local taxes, utility rates, transportation, and groceries. This page focuses on the housing component, which is the largest single line in most household budgets and the easiest to compare across cities using consistent national data.

Housing

Median home value$224,633
1-year change-8.2%
5-year price growth-0.6%
10-year price growth+1.8%
vs 5-year peak-18.4%

Source: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI).

How Silver City compares

Cost index63 (below US)
Median home vs US (~$355k)-36.7%
Population9,399
Momentum score26 (Declining)

Cost index is currently a housing-only proxy; full BLS basket coming with ACS pull.

Affordability reality

Prices only mean something against local pay. Here’s how Silver City’s housing lines up with what people here actually earn.

Median rent vs income33% of local median income
Home price-to-income5.8× local median income

At $1,078/mo, rent eats about 33% of the local median household income of $38,711 — above the 30% rule of thumb for affordable housing.

The median home runs about 5.8× the local median income (severely stretched — a stretch even for local earners).

Daily life in Silver City

Climate

87°/61° summer50°/25° winter280 sunny days12″ snow/yr14″ rain/yr

Summers run mild (highs near 87°F) and winters are moderate (highs near 50°F), with about 12″ of snow a year.

Natural-hazard & insurance risk

Flood: lowTornado: lowHurricane: very lowWildfire: very highEarthquake: low

Insurance heads-up: in Silver City, wildfire risk is pushing some insurers to raise rates or stop writing new policies in the highest-risk areas.

Getting around

The average commute is 16 min — shorter than the US average of ~27 min; 13% of workers are remote; 60% own their home.

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.